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The study of race, ethnicity, crime, and justice usually involves research on racial and ethnic differences in crime and justice patterns or the overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system. Despite recognition that racial and ethnic variations in crime and justice exist, our knowledge on the sources and consequences of this linkage is incomplete. In part this is because the categories of race and ethnicity are evolving. Also, some of the racial and ethnic categories reported by criminal justice agencies are limited or require refinement. For example, some...

The study of race, ethnicity, crime, and justice usually involves research on racial and ethnic differences in crime and justice patterns or the overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system. Despite recognition that racial and ethnic variations in crime and justice exist, our knowledge on the sources and consequences of this linkage is incomplete. In part this is because the categories of race and ethnicity are evolving. Also, some of the racial and ethnic categories reported by criminal justice agencies are limited or require refinement. For example, some agencies do not always use the same racial and ethnic categories, particularly with respect to Latinos/Hispanics, and code victims or offenders as either white or black. Nevertheless, although current knowledge is limited, there is still a large body of research on the relationships among race, ethnicity, crime, and justice. Criminologists tend to favor examining the impact of racial or ethnic composition, net of other social and economic factors, on violent crimes such as homicide across cities, or they will examine racial- or ethnic-specific outcomes across communities. Some social scientists also examine the effects of race and ethnicity by examining the relationship between the police and racial and ethnic minorities, or perhaps variations in sentencing and incarceration in prisons, jails, and halfway houses. However one chooses to examine race, ethnicity, crime, and justice, there are considerable racial and ethnic disparities concerning this topic across the United States.